


Distorted Imagery

by cym70



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Amputee Peridot, Established Relationship, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Misunderstandings, Prosthesis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 23:42:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6171415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cym70/pseuds/cym70
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peridot has been without her limb enhancers for quite a while, and it's starting to take a toll on her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Distorted Imagery

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a fic idea that's been bouncing around in my head, a combination of the Peridot-is-an-amputee theories of old and the shapeshifting-for-long-periods-of-time-is-bad info we got in Steven's Birthday. And then it turned into Amedot just because! As always, comment and let me know what you think, and feel free to come say hi on [Tumblr](http://cym70.tumblr.com/).

It was Garnet who caught her.

Of course it was Garnet, but she was pretty sure nobody needed future vision to know there was something wrong.

Peridot had felt achy all day, taking short breaks from working whenever the others weren’t looking and flexing her fingers and toes, swiveling her wrists and ankles. It provided very little relief, but it was better than nothing.

Stars, she’d been shapeshifting too long. She knew full well where this was going to end if she wasn’t careful, but there had been a Cluster to stop and a drill to finish and she hadn't had any time to be careful. Now she wasn't even sure how to broach the topic, or whether that would even do her any good.

By the time the sun was starting to go down, there were small tremors running through her limbs and it was getting hard to feel her fingers and even harder to hide the fact that she could barely stay upright. She could barely do anything, and it was starting to scare her, but she pushed through it.

By dusk, it was much, much worse. For all that she couldn’t feel half her limbs, they certainly _hurt_ plenty.

She was just standing up from where she’d been kneeling on top of the drill to dismantle it when her legs gave out entirely and she tumbled headfirst towards the ground.

“Peridot!”

Sturdy arms stopped her fall abruptly, sending a new shockwave of pain through her body and making it difficult to mask her reaction.

Peridot lay there in shock for a moment, barely aware of Garnet’s searching gaze. She was much more concerned with the fact that she literally could not move anything except perhaps her head. It was like she’d been disconnected from the majority of her body, and it was terrifying.

“Uh, Peri?” Amethyst asked, coming over. “Something the matter? Or do you just like being carried princess-style?”

“E-Everything’s fine!” Peridot stammered. She could see Steven and Pearl watching as well and wished she could just disappear. She was making such a fool of herself; it was humiliating. “I was merely taking a moment to regain my bearings!” She wasn’t sure whether it would be worse for Garnet to put her down or keep holding her, but either way there wasn't much she could do.

“Stop it,” Garnet said in a low voice. “You need to tell us what’s wrong.”

If she could _move_ , she would be halfway out the door. “Nothing’s wrong! Why would something be wrong? We should get back to work, we’re wasting time—”

“Peridot, what are you doing?” Pearl interrupted, concern lacing her voice.

“I’m not doing anything! I’m trying to explain—”

“Your gem’s glowing,” Steven said, looking worried. “Or, uh, kind of flashing?”

“What?” She turned her eyes upwards, catching a hint of green reflecting off her visor. Pain flared in her arms and legs and she curled in on herself as much as was possible considering her position and the fact that she could barely move. “No, no, no, stop it, _stop it_ ,” she whispered, trying to focus what little concentration she could muster into retaining her current form. “I can’t—Garnet, _let go of me!_ ”

Garnet immediately dropped to her knee, laying Peridot out on the floor as gently as she could. “Peridot, look at me.”

She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. It hurt, everything hurt, and everyone was going to hate her for lying even though she’d finally, _finally_ started to fit in with their little group of misfits. She’d have nowhere to go.

A cool hand rested on top of her head, carefully placed well above her gem. “You’re going to be okay. Let go.”

“I-I can’t, I can’t, I need them to—”

“No, you don’t,” Garnet said firmly. “ _Let go._ ”

Peridot gritted her teeth, small tears slipping out of her eyes. “It _hurts_ ,” she bit out.

“I know.”

She drew in a ragged breath and gave in, letting her form go with what felt simultaneously like she was being ripped apart and doused in boiling water. Peridot screamed, and everything went black for a second before she found herself enclosed in Garnet’s arms again, a loose embrace holding her across the fusion’s lap.

“There you go,” Garnet said soothingly, sweeping a hand through Peridot’s hair. “All done. Pearl, head over to Rose’s fountain.”

“On it,” Pearl replied briskly, exiting the barn.

“Steven, Amethyst.” She gestured the other two forward.

Steven’s face was pale, and he clung to Amethyst’s arm as he stared at Peridot, whose limbs now cut off nearly halfway down her forearms and shins. “I-Is she okay? What—What happened?”

“Shapeshifting,” Amethyst concluded, looking worried as she sat down next to Peridot. “Geez, P-dot, what happened to it being a waste of energy?”

Peridot didn’t feel like she had the energy for lying on the floor, much less keeping up a conversation, but she could read the barely-concealed distress in Amethyst’s eyes. “It is,” she managed weakly. “A huge waste of energy.”

Amethyst gave her a half-smile and removed Peridot’s visor gently, resting a hand on her forehead with her thumb just brushing the edge of her gem.

“Do you want me to try healing you?” Steven offered.

“Yeah, spit on her gem, it’ll make her feel better,” Amethyst said with a halfhearted grin.

Peridot stared at them, eyes stinging from a combination of the pain and the genuine concern being directed towards her.

“Oh, uh, shoot, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” Amethyst said with wide eyes. “I’m sorry, I’ll be serious.”

“Wha—I’m not crying!” she said, automatically trying to bring a hand up to her face and only managing to get her arm about halfway up before she realized what she was doing. “Heh.” Peridot sniffed, mouth curving into a crooked smile. She dropped her arm back down, resting it against her stomach. “Ow. Well, at least now I know exactly how long it’s possible to hold that form.”

“Um, Peridot?” Steven scooted closer. “Are you gonna be okay?”

“I’m fine, it’s fine.” Peridot averted her eyes. “Why aren’t you all mad at me?”

“Mad?” he asked in confusion.

“I didn’t tell you,” she muttered. “Last time I hid something from you, it seemed to break whatever small amount of trust I had gained since joining you, at least temporarily.”

“You think we’re gonna be mad about you not telling us?” Amethyst asked, narrowing her eyes. “No way. I’m _mad_ because you’ve been making yourself feel like garbage for ages just because you didn’t want us to know.”

“We had to take care of the Cluster,” she tried feebly. “I was getting to it.”

“Yeah, if you didn’t crack yourself first,” she shot back angrily. She saw Peridot flinch and backed off with a sigh. “You _scared_  me, P-dot.”

“Oh.” Peridot gulped. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I really thought I could hold out a little longer.”

Garnet ran her hands lightly over Peridot’s shoulders. “Don’t do it again.”

“Yeah, you don’t have to be ashamed of it,” Amethyst said, nodding.

Peridot gave her a strange look. “I’m not ashamed of it. Why should I be?”

“You shouldn’t, I just thought—”

“I function _perfectly fine_ like this,” she snapped, not entirely sure why the insinuation had stung so much. “I would _still_ be functioning had you not _thrown away my limb enhancers!_ ”

She flinched. “Y-Yeah, I guess that was pretty stupid of me. I just…didn’t know you needed them.”

“Of course I needed them! Why would I wear them if I didn’t _need_ them?”

“Peridot,” Garnet cut in. “You have every right to be mad, but you’re tired, you’re hurting, and you need to take it easy.”

Peridot glared at Amethyst a few seconds longer for good measure, bitterness rising on her tongue. She fought back a derogatory comment she knew she would regret. “Fine. I guess I shouldn’t expect any of you to understand modern Homeworld technology anyway.”

“I’m really sorry, Peridot,” Amethyst said guiltily, voice unusually quiet.

“It’s not like there’s anything to be done about it now.”

The purple gem cringed, letting her hair fall forward over her face.

“Amethyst,” Garnet said smoothly, “go get Peridot some pillows and blankets from the house. I’m going to take her upstairs to relax.”

“Sure thing,” she replied emotionlessly.

“I’ll help,” Steven said quickly, following Amethyst out the door.

Peridot lay still in Garnet’s arms, wishing she could move on her own.

“It’s not just Amethyst’s fault,” the fusion said, gently lifting her upright and letting her lean against her chest. “We all owe you an apology.”

“I don’t need an apology,” Peridot muttered. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I can apparently shapeshift regularly for quite some time before my form starts failing. If I give myself more time to rest, perhaps scheduled periods twice a week, I should be able to continue on in such a pattern almost indefinitely.”

“ _No_ ,” Garnet said sharply.

“What do you mean ‘no’?” she demanded. “Do you want me to help the team or not?”

“I want you,” she replied, “to be safe.” She slipped her arms underneath Peridot. “I’m going to move you now,” she said, though it was clear she was waiting for permission.

“Fine,” she muttered, not sure what to make of her first statement. She let Garnet carry her up the ladder and place her on the couch. “How much of this did you see coming?” she asked as the fusion placed Peridot’s visor down nearby.

“I could tell there was something wrong,” Garnet replied with a half-shrug, “but my future vision relies to some extent on what I know to look for, so I didn’t really see what was happening until you had fallen.”

“Huh.”

“Pearl’s back,” Garnet said suddenly before Peridot could begin interrogating her about the mechanics of her so-called ‘future vision.’ “Up here,” she called.

Pearl hurried up the steps, a small bottle clutched in one hand. “This should help,” she said, kneeling beside Peridot. “Do you mind if I put it on, or would you like to wait for Amethyst to get back?”

“You can do it,” Peridot muttered.

Pearl nodded. “In that case, I’m going to apply it to your gem first and then put some more directly onto your limbs. That should at least numb the pain for a little while, though you’re likely to be feeling this for several days until your body recovers from the extensive strain you put it through.”

“I don’t need a lecture,” she told her, closing her eyes as Pearl’s fingers began to smooth the liquid over her gem. “I did what was necessary to complete my work.”

“I disagree but I will, as requested, spare you the lecture for now.” She dipped her fingers into the bottle again and traced the edges of Peridot’s gem. “Is this helping?”

“A little.”

Pearl hummed quietly and lifted Peridot’s right arm up, sprinkling a few drops on the end and then rubbing it into her skin. Peridot jerked involuntarily at the sting, but it soon faded into something more tolerable, masking the worst of the pain emanating from that arm. “Next,” Pearl said, motioning for Peridot to lift her other arm. “If you don’t mind my asking, has this always been your base form?”

“Yes.” She tilted her head. “A lot of Peridots are like this.”

“Really?” Pearl sounded surprised.

“There were complications when we were made, but it would have been wasteful to throw away all our potential as technicians.” She shrugged with one shoulder, wincing at the movement. “So they figured out the limb enhancers, and we were able to serve as planned.”

“I suppose that was well after our time,” Pearl mused, exchanging a look with Garnet. “I had assumed the enhancers were a part of your body.”

“They _are_ part of my body,” Peridot said. “They’re just not something I can reform with.”

“That’s fair.” She moved to pour a few drops of liquid over Peridot’s legs. “They’re standardized equipment?”

“They all have the same base programming, but we can customize them to suit our needs.”

“Fascinating.” Pearl thought for a moment. “We’ll have to discuss the possibilities available later and—oh, hello, Steven.” She smiled at the young gem and motioned him over.

“I brought you some pillows,” Steven offered, holding them out.

“Thanks,” Peridot said, blushing slightly as Garnet helped her sit up for a moment so he could stick them behind her head.

“I hope you feel better soon,” he said with a warm smile.

“Thanks,” she repeated, eyes darting over to where Amethyst was standing with a pile of blankets.

“Uh, I just grabbed some of these from my room, if you want ‘em.” She didn’t quite meet Peridot’s eyes.

“Not particularly.”

“Okay,” Amethyst said quietly, dumping them at the foot of the couch. “Well. Just in case you change your mind.” She left them there and disappeared back down the ladder.

Steven looked between them uncomfortably and then plopped down on the other end of the couch. “Um, does it hurt a lot? Do you want me to get you anything else?”

“It’s better now,” she said, flashing a brief smile at Pearl as she finished and closed the bottle, setting it on the floor next to her. “Can I watch the image cube?”

“Sure!” He hurried to turn on the TV. _Camp Pining Hearts_ immediately started playing from the middle of the episode. “You know what?” he said quickly, stopping it. “I’ll get some new tapes.”

“Why would I want new tapes?” Peridot asked indignantly.

“…More episodes?”

“A _ha!_ ” She flung her arm out to point at Steven accusingly. “Ow! I _knew_ you were hiding more somewhere!”

Steven reached over and carefully lowered her arm back to her side. “Mayyyybe you should sit still?”

Peridot mustered a half-hearted glare. “I’ll sit still if you bring me every single episode and start them from the beginning to make amends for the false information I was given previously.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “But you have to promise you’ll stay here until you feel better.”

“Alright,” she decided after a moment’s consideration. “Those are acceptable conditions.”

“Good!” He leaned over and gave her as much of a hug as he could manage when she was lying down. “We just wanna make sure you’re okay, Dot.”

Peridot nodded uncertainly. “I’ll be back to normal soon enough, and then I can shapeshift again.”

Steven let go, shaking his head quickly. “No, you shouldn’t…” He looked to Pearl for help.

“He’s right,” Pearl said. “You’re going to do irreparable damage to yourself if you continue to force it. We’ll figure something else out.”

“Sure,” Peridot said doubtfully. “Can I have the tapes now?”

The other three exchanged a look, but Steven hurried off to get them.

Garnet placed a hand on Peridot’s head and ruffled her hair a bit. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“Yes, and let us know if you want any more of Rose’s healing tears,” Pearl agreed.

She didn’t really see what there was to talk about, but she nodded to appease the other two so they would go about their business and stop fussing.

“Okay,” Garnet said. “We’ll leave you alone now.”

Peridot watched as the two of them headed back downstairs, leaving her in peace to wait for Steven’s arrival. She appreciated their concern, but she was on Earth now and the planet simply did not have the technology to support her needs. None of them could do anything about that.

She rolled over onto her side, face cushioned by the fluffy pillows, and stared at the blank TV screen. She really did miss her enhancers. Lying around feeling achy and miserable was going to get old fast, especially without Amethyst’s company. She’d have to apologize for snapping at her. Apologies were commonplace now—she was learning, but it was all too easy to say something without thinking of the others’ feelings. Peridot wasn’t sure she wanted to see Amethyst though, the words she’d spoken resting bitter in her mind and making her feel sick. Amethyst was supposed to _understand_ , she was different too, and she always said she liked Peridot the way she was, even if she made mistakes. She would have gone to Amethyst first if she'd had a choice, but now she was starting to be glad she _hadn’t_ told her sooner, glad she’d hidden it for a while.

“Clod,” she muttered under her breath. It didn’t really help.

* * *

About an hour later, Amethyst’s head poked up from the ladder. “Hey, Peri? Can I come in?”

Peridot hesitated, pulling her eyes away from the screen briefly. She looked Amethyst over and then nodded her assent.

“Thanks.” She came over and sat next to Peridot, hands pressed down into the cushions and shoulders hunched up by her neck. “So, uh, I know I screwed up. _Really_ screwed up.” She forced a laugh. “I’m good at that. But, well, I’m gonna try and get your enhancers back. I don’t know if they’ll work even if I find them, but…hey, between you and Pearl, I figure there’s a good chance they can be fixed up.”

“Thanks,” Peridot said honestly, though she tugged the blankets up to her chin, the sick feeling in her chest still not easing. “It’s okay,” she added, more softly. “I shouldn’t have blamed you for something you did when we were enemies.”

Amethyst looked up, giving her a small smile. “It’s cool. You had a rough day, and it’s still kinda my fault for not bringing it up later and making sure you were alright.”

She nodded, lowering her eyes. “It’s okay,” she repeated.

“Are you?” Amethyst asked. “I mean, is there anything I can do? We can use some more tears from Rose’s fountain if—”

Peridot shook her head quickly.

“Oh. Okay.” She bit her lip, eyes drifting back to the TV. “More _Camp Pining Hearts_ , huh?”

“Steven gave me the rest of the episodes to watch while I recover.”

“Cool.”

Peridot risked a small sideways glance towards the other gem. “Amethyst?”

“Yeah?”

She quickly directed her eyes back to the blanket draped over her. “You think there’s something wrong with me?” she murmured, words heavy in her mouth.

“What?” Amethyst’s eyes went wide. “No, I don’t! Why do you think I’d think that?”

“Because,” Peridot said in a small voice, “you thought I should be ashamed of being like this.”

“That’s not what I said!” She leaned in urgently. “You just seemed kinda freaked out about it, and I didn’t want you to feel like you had anything to be embarrassed about!”

“The only thing I was embarrassed about was the _situation!_ ” she said, turning to her sharply. “I didn’t—I didn’t want _pity._ ” She looked directly into Amethyst’s eyes, trying her best not to let her voice tremble. “This is just how I am. I’m not going to apologize for that.”

“Wha—Of course not, Peri, you have nothing to apologize for.” She cupped Peridot’s cheek gently. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re amazing. I just—I didn’t know what to say to make you feel better, and I picked the completely wrong choice, okay? That’s not what I think of you.”

“It’s not?” she asked hopefully.

“Nope.” Amethyst smiled faintly. “I’m sorry I made you feel bad, P-dot. Come here?”

Peridot nodded, letting Amethyst pull her into a snug embrace. “Thanks,” she said softly, carefully placing her own arms around Amethyst despite the pain that flared every time she moved them. “I’m sorry I was acting like a jerk earlier,” she offered, pressing her face against Amethyst’s neck. “Thanks for offering to find my enhancers; that means a lot.”

“Well, I gotta have my girl’s back,” she said lightly, turning to press a kiss to the side of her hair. “Let’s just forget about it, okay? You’re forgiven, I’m forgiven, we’ll do better?”

“Sounds good.” Peridot smiled. “Would you…help me apply more of the healing liquid?”

“Yeah, ‘course.” Amethyst let go, kissing the tip of Peridot’s nose. “At your service.”

She watched as Amethyst leaned over and grabbed the bottle, offering out one arm once she had it open.

Amethyst took it carefully and spread the water across her skin with a light touch. “How bad is it?”

Peridot blinked at her. “What scale am I using to quantify the severity?”

“Uh…one to ten?”

She considered it for a moment. “Nine earlier, five point seven now, four once you’ve finished putting this on.”

“Yikes.” She dipped her head to kiss the end of Peridot’s arm. “I’ll stick around and play nurse if you want.”

“Is that a game?” Peridot asked, confused.

“No, no, it means I’ll help out with this kinda stuff. Make you feel a little better.” She moved on to the opposite arm.

“Oh.” She smiled. “Yes, that would be appreciated. I also need someone to operate the image cube.”

Amethyst laughed. “Yeah, okay, I can do that too. You still like Percy and what’s-his-name?”

“Pierre!” she huffed. “Of course I do! With all of this new information, I’ll be able to compile a full report on why they are objectively the best couple!”

“I’m teasing,” she said, poking Peridot in the cheek. “You’re cute when you’re excited.”

“I’m not cute!” she argued, cheeks going deep blue.

“Yeahhh, not very convincing, Peri.” Amethyst tended to her legs as Peridot stammered her way through an incoherent reply. “So,” she said seriously, finishing up, “two things.”

“What?” Peridot muttered.

“One, don’t be afraid to tell us stuff that’s bothering you. I mean, we want you to feel safe, y’know?”

“I feel plenty safe _now_ ,” Peridot replied, not quite meeting her eyes. “It was the prior situation that was less than ideal. I didn’t really have a choice.”

“You—Okay, yeah, I hear you. There was a lot going on. But you’re on our side now, and we’re gonna make sure our favorite tiny nerd is okay.”

She nodded, giving Amethyst a small, crooked smile.

“Number two,” she said, holding up another finger. “Don’t do this kind of thing again unless you _really, really have to._ Like, life-or-death have to. There’s nothing wrong with shapeshifting, but holding it that long…you really scared us back there, Peridot.”

“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to.” She chewed nervously at her lip. “You think you can actually find my enhancers?”

“Won’t rest until I’ve searched the whole ocean.”

Peridot raised her eyebrows. “I’m supposed to find that reassuring? You’ve been searching the ocean for Malachite ever since I crash-landed.”

Amethyst grinned nervously. “Well, we’ve gotta find one of the two sooner or later, right?”

“Actually,” Peridot said suddenly, “I put a tracking mechanism in my enhancers, and there’s a small chance it’s still functional. I'll check on it later. You know, _before_ you go run straight into an angry fusion.”

Amethyst laughed. “Yeah, sounds like a plan.” She gave Peridot a quick hug and pressed her lips to her gem. “Let’s chill for a while, you look tired.”

“Can you start this episode over?” she asked, blushing. “I missed most of it.”

“Aw, am I _distracting?_ ” She fluttered her eyelashes.

“Yes,” Peridot said bluntly, “but please stop doing strange things with your vision spheres.”

Amethyst laughed and rolled off the couch to grab the remote. When she returned, she helped Peridot rearrange her pillows so she could sit upright comfortably, then draped an arm loosely around her waist. “Good?” she checked as she started rewinding the tape.

Peridot nodded, leaning her head against Amethyst’s shoulder. “Thank you.” She tilted her head up to look at her and, seeing that she was watching the screen, darted over to place a kiss on the top of Amethyst’s gem in return.

Her hand tightened briefly on Peridot’s waist, and a warm blush rose on her cheeks. “Sneaky. Now who’s distracting?”

“You like distractions.”

“Yep,” Amethyst agreed with a smile. “I like distractions a lot.”

“Good,” Peridot said, dragging herself onto Amethyst’s lap and hiding her face in her neck. “I feel terrible. Distract me.”

Amethyst drew her arms carefully around Peridot’s body. “You got it, P-dot. Want anything besides _Camp Pining Hearts?_ ”

“No, this is fine.” She leaned into Amethyst’s warm embrace, relaxing. “I’ll be fine.”


End file.
